Lobbyist for pro-Armenian political group chats up Pence in Trump Hotel’s lobby

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) claims to be “the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots political organization.” While it appears Pence was in the process of entering or leaving an event at the hotel when the conversation occurred, it apparently lasted long enough for ANCA’s government affairs director, Raffi Karakashian, to bring up both America’s need to better to remember the Armenian genocide and protecting Christians and other at-risk populations in the Middle East.

Turns out the group was staying there too—though not out of political motivations, but simply because the rate it received was the lowest of the three it solicited, according to CRES’s executive director.

“We’re a nonprofit group, so staying at a luxury hotel is not necessarily the plan,” said Heather Reams, who heads the group with a mission to “engage Republican policymakers and the public about commonsense, conservative solutions to address our nation’s need for reliable energy.”

A broker accessible via CRES’s American Express account solicited bids on behalf of the group from the Liaison Capitol Hill, Hyatt Place Washington D.C./National Mall, and the Trump Hotel D.C. According to Reams, the Trump Hotel D.C. came back with the cheapest rate: $339 a night, $10 less than the Hyatt. It also required the group spend less money at its planned reception than what the other hotels mandated (the Liaison and Hyatt Place are nice enough but decidedly downmarket from "the “#onlyfivestarhoteldowntownDC”).

“They [the hotels] didn’t know it would be a Republican organization or anything,” Reams said. “It was through a broker.”

In addition to Rouzer, Reams said she thinks some other members of Congress mingled in the lobby with fly-in attendees, many of whom had preexisting relationships with the lawmakers. She also said administration staffers from EPA and the Department of Energy came by to meet people interested in clean energy from other parts of the country.

“This was our first fly-in,” Reams said. “It certainly helped having a nice hotel for people to stay. For people around the country, knowing a Trump Hotel is attractive. But really, totally price driven.”

policy advisor for the pro-Trump nonprofit America First Policies and Trump business regular, Martha Boneta (center)

the president of the pro-Trump Middle Eastern Women’s Coalition and Trump business regular, Rabia Kazan (right)

The president of lobbying firm the Da Vinci Group, Mark Smith, a Trump Hotel D.C. regular, was back and ran into another lobbyist. It was Jeff Morehouse of ClearPath, whose “mission is to develop and advance conservative policies that accelerate clean energy innovation.”

Other Trump Organization news

Yesterday the White House promoted a USA Today column that argued Trump’s national emergency declaration is constitutional. The article was written by the attorneys general of Texas, Ken Paxton; Indiana, Curtis Hill; and Louisiana, Jeff Landry. Paxton and Landry have both patronized the Trump Hotel D.C.

“A New York appellate court ruled Thursday that President Trump must face a defamation lawsuit filed by former ‘Apprentice’ contestant Summer Zervos, one of about a dozen women who accused Trump of sexualmisconduct shortly before the 2016 election…The ruling in Zervos’s case could also hurt the president’s cause in a separate New York lawsuit—this one involving his troubled charity, the Donald J. Trump Foundation.” By Felicia Sonmez and David A. Fahrenthold for The Washington Post.

Oversight and Reform—Chair Rep. Elijah Cummings’s (D–MD) staff “has already sent out 51 letters to government officials, the White House, and the Trump Organization asking for documents related to investigations that the committee may launch,” according to CBS News on Jan. 13. In a Feb. 15 letter to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, Cummings said the committee received documents showing White House attorney Stefan Passantino and long-time Trump personal attorney Sheri Dillon provided “false information” to the Office of Government Ethics regarding Michael Cohen’s “hush-money payments.” As a result, Cummings wants to depose both Passantino and Dillon; the White House, however, rejected Cummings’ request to interview Passantino. And on Feb. 27, Cohen testified to the committee about those payments and other Trump Organization business practices, which could lead to the committee requesting the president’s tax returns and allegations of possible insurance fraud. The next day, House Democrats signaled they would seek testimony from Trump Organization officials whom Cohen alleged were implicated, including Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and CFO Allen Weisselberg. On March 6, Cummings requested information from the GSA about its reversal of an earlier decision to relocate FBI headquarters, which is located across the street from the Trump Hotel D.C.

UPDATED Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management—Transportation committee chair Rep. Peter DeFazio (D–OR) and subcommittee chair Dina Titus (D–NV) sent a letter to GSA administrator Emily Murphy on Jan. 22 asking for all communication between the GSA and members of the Trump family dating back to 2015, an explanation of how the hotel calculates its profits, profit statements since the hotel opened in 2016, any guidance from the White House regarding the lease, and whether or not Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are recused from participating in decisions regarding the property. GSA has “sent a partial response and the subcommittee is reviewing it,” according to a senior House staffer familiar with the situation. When hearings begin, it is likely that Murphy will be the first person called to testify, according to a person familiar with the subcommittee’s plans. Titus is hiring additional staffers to handle the investigation. On March 6, Titus requested information from the GSA about its reversal of an earlier decision to relocate the FBI headquarters, which is located across the street from the Trump Hotel D.C. NPR reported on March 15 that, “Democrats on the committee want to know, among other things, whether there was any political pressure exerted on the GSA by the Trump White House, presidential campaign or transition team. They also want to know how the Trump Hotel calculates its profits, segregates incoming money from foreign governments, and what the Trump Organization owes the GSA on a monthly or annual basis.’”

Ways and Means subcommittee on Oversight—The subcommittee held its first hearing on “legislative proposals and tax law related to presidential and vice-presidential tax returns” on Feb. 7. “We will ask the question: Does the public have a need to know that a person seeking the highest office in our country obeys tax law?” said chair Rep. John Lewis (D–GA). Experts in tax law testified.

Individual capacity—On Dec. 14, Trump’s personal attorneys appealed the denial of their motion to dismiss the case, also to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. On Dec. 19, the AGs replied to Trump’s motion for a stay pending that appeal by voluntarily dismissing the claims against Trump in his “individual capacity to allow the claims against President Trump in his official capacity to move forward expeditiously.” (The AGs only brought suit against Trump in his individual capacity after the judge suggested they do so.) Trump’s personal attorneys, on Dec. 21, opposed the motion to dismiss at the district level, saying the appeals court now has jurisdiction and accusing the AGs of “gamesmanship.”

Employees’ class-action suit alleging racial discrimination—Two of the three plaintiffs did not appear at a status hearing on Jan. 25, 2019; their cases were moved to arbitration. Via email, their attorney, A.J. Dhali, said his clients did not appear at the hearing because their case already had been moved to arbitration last year. The next status hearing is scheduled for Oct. 4.

Health inspections, current status (latest change, Aug. 10, 2018)

❌Hotel: five violations on May 7, 2018; two were corrected on site

❌BLT Prime and Benjamin Bar: nine violations on Aug. 10, 2018

❌Sushi Nakazawa: two violations on Aug. 10, 2018

✔️Banquet kitchen: no violations on Aug. 10, 2018

❌Pastry kitchen: two violations on Aug. 10, 2018

✔️Gift shop: no violations on May 7, 2018

❌Employee kitchen and in-room dining: five violations on Aug. 10, 2018; two were corrected on site

One thing that has nothing to do with Trump’s businesses (I think, tough to tell sometimes!)

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